Three Raiders, 1 Lady Don sign with colleges

The Randall Raiders, who advanced to the Region 1-4A semifinals, had three players sign: 6-foot-3 Mason White committing to West Texas A&M, 6-6 Kendall Cogburn to Wayland Baptist and 6-6 Seth Vaughan to Seminole (Okla.) State College.

Palo Duro Lady Dons all-stater Alex Williams will attend Wayland Baptist and join former teammate Megan Coats, who led WBU in scoring as a freshman last season.

Randall boys coach Leslie Broadhurst and Palo Duro girls coach A.J. Johnson praised the character and talent of their players.

"I think one of the main things is that they're all good people," Broadhurst said of his three starters who helped Randall to a 29-6 record. "They're never in trouble in school, and they're kids you're proud to take places and proud to say they were on your team."

Cogburn said he agreed to play at Wayland Baptist because of the school's tradition on and off the court.

"A lot of good colleges might recruit a lot of talent, but not a lot of character," he said. "I think Wayland does a good job of doing both."

Vaughan said signing with a junior college could possibly help him secure a roster spot on a Division I team.

"They've got so many good players there," Vaughan said. "To go D-I has always been my dream, and going to a junior college and getting those two years of experience will help me a lot."

White said he chose WT because he wanted to remain close to home.

"It's a great feeling to be able to stay home and play basketball at the next level," he said. "It's an honor to play at WT."

Johnson said he has seen few players make the improvement Williams made from seventh grade to her senior season.

"Alex didn't start playing basketball until the seventh grade, and if you would have told me she would have been all-state her senior year, I wouldn't have believed it," Johnson said. "But she works so hard and listens to coaching. She is deserving of this scholarship."